Complete Failure
by Joel Dane
When I couldn’t find a job in California, I decided to walk across the country. From the Santa Monica Pier to Coney Island. Things were going really well for me.
I imagine one of my ankles turning on the ice-plant, and beach sand clinging to my white tube socks. I imagine cigarette butts and seagulls but no people. No swimmers, no sunbathers, no car blasting I Left My Wallet In El Segundo.
Chapter 29
Once Joselyn was sitting in her armchair and she saw me struggling to write an email because I kept getting a redline under what was supposed to be “permanently”.
“Do you want a way to fix that?”
“Yes.”
“Alright. Face me.” And we turned in our armchairs which were side by side and she looked into my eyes. I knew not to blink. I relaxed my eye muscles so they could dilate and accept the knowledge within the incantation she’s about to give like downloading an update.
It’s hard to find the right way to describe Ananda Lima‘s new book Craft: Stories I Wrote For the Devil. On the simplest level, it’s a collection of uncanny stories, many of them involving the act of writing and a series of ominous Satanic presences. But there are also — as the title implies — subtle links between all of the works in the collection, establishing this book as more than the sum of its (impressive) parts. I talked with Lima about the genesis of Craft, its relationship to her poetry, and the art of structure.
In our weekend reading: new fiction by Antoine Volodine and Emily Schultz, revisiting the music of Sade, and more.
Chapter 28
Joselyn looks at the clock at the front of the makeshift executive boardroom and it’s after two.
She sits at the head chair now.
Before, she and Morgen would sit across from me and Everhet.
And Hans’ chair would remain vacant in memory of his spirit as he travels the world. A visual reminder of his presence.
We’re pleased to present an excerpt from the supernatural noir graphic novel Hard Bargain from writer Steven S. DeKnight and artist Leno Carvalho. Publisher Humanoids is currently running a Kickstarter campaign for the book, featuring contributions from the likes of Pete Woods and Michael Gaydos. The novel follows a private detective crossing paths with the magical underworld of 1940s Los Angeles.
There’s a lot going on in The Rachel Condition, writer and filmmaker Nicholas Rombes‘s followup to his excellent debut, The Absolution of Roberto Acestes Laing. In its broadest terms, it’s about a man sent to Detroit to infiltrate a countercultural group in search of a literary artifact. And if that was the full breadth of this novel, it would be compelling enough — but Rombes goes further. Slowly, it becomes clear that the version of Detroit (and of the United States as a whole) are not quite the same ones we’re familiar with. And it’s these small moments of dissonance which turn out to have huge implications on the story being told. I spoke with Rombes about the genesis of this book, his fondness for nestled narratives, and his own relationship to Detroit’s musical history.
Chapter 27
Joselyn has encouraged me to begin developing my own rituals. Things I do to calm down. Per the new installment of the Freedom of Medical Care Act (FMCA 7.3) “rituals” fall under the category of preventative medicine.
Now every time I brush my teeth I time travel.